Toshiba has announced it will build a new production
facility to relocate its semiconductor operations and redress the problems
caused by the 2011 floods and to meet future growth demands. The plant, which
will be operated by subsidiary Toshiba Semiconductor Thailand Ltd (TST), will
be 135,000 square metres and be due for completion in the spring of 2013,
production will begin in the subsequent months.

TST, which was established by Toshiba in 1990, conducts
assembly and packaging operations for small signal devices. These devices are responsible
for controlling current and voltage in digital products such as smart phones
and tablet computers, a sector that has seen rapid growth in recent years. The
new facility will also process photocouplers, a component that is widely used
in solar PV inverters.

The cost of construction for the plant will predominantly be
covered by flood insurance payments and will have minimal effect on Toshiba’s
semiconductor business. The new manufacturing plant will be situated 15-20m
above sea level and operate outside Thailand's main drainage basins,
offering protection against future flood damage.

Toshiba have recently initiated measures aimed at boosting
operational efficiency and maximising productivity, these have included
transferring the back-end process overseas and changing to larger wafers in the
front-end process to increase output.